Diocese of Italy

The Diocese of Italy was a regional administrative district of the Roman Empire which was created during Diocletian's reforms during his reign from 293-305 AD. Following the Edict of Milan in 313 AD, the Christian Church was legalized, and it created dioceses in every Roman province; these existed until the late 5th century. The diocese was centered around the later imperial capitals of Mediolanium and Ravenna, while the Diocese of Rome was independent; the diocese covered all of northern Italy and parts of Central Europe. In 535 AD, after the Byzantine emperor Justinian I's reconquest of Italy, he abolished the diocese and replaced it with a Praetorian prefecture.